Rules Could Split Safaricom Revenue Arms

Rules could split Safaricom revenue arms

Safaricom is staring at tough times as Parliament begins discussing regulations that will restrict its movements in the market and punish it for abusing dominance. If the Fair Competition and Equality of Treatment 2015 regulations contained in the Communications Act are passed by Parliament, Safaricom will be required to maintain separate books of account for each of its services such as M-Pesa, mobile phone services and the infrastructure.

The regulations describe a dominant player as a licensee that can “maintain or erect barriers to entry into the market, including, by means of control of essential facilities, access to superior technology, privileged access to resources or capital markets or superior buying or negotiating position, amongst others.” A dominant player must also have a market share of 50 percent or more. Safaricom has more than 70 percent market share but CA has not identified which market they are dominating.

KenGen strikes 375MW from new geothermal wells

Electricity generating company KenGen is set to boost its geothermal output following the discovery of steam wells that can generate up to 375 megawatts at its Olkaria fields. The wells will be used to
develop three power plants with total capacity of 350MW. Other projects are the 140MW Olkaria V and Olkaria VI plants, which the company plans to develop in the next two to four years. The 140MW
Olkaria V, KenGen’s next project, is set to kick off before the end of the year.

Olympia in yet another subsidiary shut down

Investment company Olympia Capital has announced plans to close two of its loss-making subsidiaries, indicating yet another financial blow to shareholders of the NSE-listed firm. The company is shutting down Dunlop Industries, a Nairobi-based manufacturer of vinyl floor tiles, and Cape Town-based Tiespro Trading, which makes bathroom and kitchen fittings.

Mumias Sugar hires 8 managers to drive turnaround

Mumias Sugar Company is mulling extending the term of its CEO Coutts Otolo even as it hired eight managers to replace those sacked last year in a corruption purge. Appointment of the new managers is
part of the conditions that the government and creditors required the sugarcane miller to fulfil before giving it part of the money needed to revive operations at the ailing firm. The position of the chief finance officer remains vacant as the company is still scouting for an appropriate candidate.

Kenyan Stock Market

The NSE 20 rose by 0.71 percent w/w to close at 4,812.57 while the NSE ALSI declined by 0.55 percent w/w to close at 161.50 .

Turnover, total volumes traded and total market capitalization stood at KES 11,569.68 million, 250.65 million and KES 2,261.11bn respectively at the end of the week.

EAC Markets

Uganda: The USE ALSI and USE LSI declined by 1.34 percent and 1.18 percent w/w to close at 1,957.62 and 324.03 respectively.

Rwanda: The RSE ALSI rose by 6.54 percent w/w to close at 144.52 while RSE RSI declined by 2.89 percent w/w to close at 213.98.

Tanzania: The DSE TSI and DSEI dropped by 5.85 percent and 0.47 percent w/w respectively closing at 2,641.08 and 4,686.39.

Global markets

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.26 percent at 17,711.27, the S&P 500 was down 0.18 percent at 2,073.75 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.32 percent, at 4,997.03.

European stocks extended declines after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said the country needs a 30 percent debt haircut. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 0.8 percent to 382.3

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.4 percent to 146.36. The measure is headed for a 1 percent decrease this week